She was one of the Democrats’ most vulnerable incumbents in 2010—the subject of a fierce primary challenge from the left and an even fiercer challenge from the right in November. But in the end, Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s vote in favor of President Obama’s health-care reform helped pull her under, and she lost her Senate seat by a substantial margin.

U.S. Marshal for Arizona David Gonzales discusses Loughner’s bizarre “paranoid” behavior in custody, concerns about copycat attacks, and the loss of his friend and colleague, U.S. District Judge John M. Roll.

Randy Loughner leaned against his car, sobbing, as police swarmed his suburban Tucson home, searching for clues as to why his 22-year-old son, Jared, might have opened fire outside a nearby supermarket where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was meeting with her constituents

Congress now faces unprecedented pressure to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.” The Pentagon released its report on the issue last week, finding that 70 percent of troops thought repeal would have mixed, positive, or no effect on the military.

The Pentagon’s highly anticipated report on the effects of letting gays serve openly in the military finds that there wouldn’t be a negative impact. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the controversial policy against it will change.

You’d expect aging flower children to fight for the right to get high. But aging conservatives? As the ideals of the Tea Party’s most vocal libertarians infiltrate the Republican ranks, and state and federal officials slash budgets even as they pump cash into an expensive war on drugs, some conservatives are making the case for legalizing marijuana.

The National Organization for Marriage will come under close scrutiny today with the launch of a new Web site that will list donors and backers of the organization, whose goal is to fight against same-sex marriage. (NOM, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., was founded in 2007 “in response to the growing need for an organized opposition to same-sex marriage in state legislatures,” as its Web site states.)

In the wake of a Senate vote not to advance the Defense Authorization Bill, the current iteration of which included an amendment that would have repealed "don't ask, don't tell," the 17-year-old ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military, some gay-rights advocates predicted grim ramifications for Democrats in November.

As a Senate vote looms on the repeal of "don’t ask, don’t tell," the military’s ban on open service for gays and lesbians, gay advocates are increasingly worried that Republicans, led by Sen. John McCain, could derail years of effort. On Thursday several protested against McCain at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

Court hearings are scheduled today to further explore allegations of voter fraud among the state’s Green Party candidates. The actions come just as a new group, Truth AZ (TruthAZ.com), has registered with the Arizona secretary of state to fight what it calls rampant corruption ahead of the November elections.

Now that a federal judge in California has ruled “don’t ask, don’t tell” is unconstitutional and violates the First and Fifth Amendments rights of gays of lesbians, gay-rights advocates are thrilled but remain concerned that repeal language in the 2010 National Defense Authorization bill has yet to be voted on.

The past 24 hours have not been kind to Arizona leaders Gov. Jan Brewer and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. It started with Brewer, whose opening statement in last night’s debate with gubernatorial contenders was painful to watch.

George W. Bush’s 2004 campaign chief and former RNC chair Ken Mehlman, long a thorn in the side of the LGBT movement, dropped a bomb yesterday, telling The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder that he’s gay. The response in the gay community has been shock and disgust.

The Justice Department is investigating Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio over alleged civil-rights violations. The Washington Post reports that his office has failed to comply with requests from federal investigators examining the treatment of Hispanics in Maricopa County jails and the tactics used to detain them.

A federal judge today ruled that same-sex marriages may resume next week in California, dealing a blow to Prop 8 supporters who had wanted a longer-term stay that would last the entire appeals process.

Back before they grew distant, Barry Broome, head of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, would talk to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer every few weeks. “Not once did she mention immigration,” Broome recalls. So he never imagined what was to come: that she would sign into law one of the nation’s most draconian illegal-immigration bills; pick a costly, high-profile fight with the federal government to defend it; and create a public-relations fiasco for the state.

Wednesday's ruling overturning California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in the state, would seem to be a cause for celebration among gay-rights advocates. But as foes of gay marriage plan their appeal, many LGBT groups are worried about the eventual outcome.

Arizona’s tough immigration law is just the beginning of the conservative battle to clamp down on illegal immigrants. A broader fight is coming—possibly even to change the U.S. Constitution. Sen. Lindsey Graham made headlines last week, telling Fox News he’s considering a constitutional change to revise the right, enshrined in the 14th Amendment, that grants automatic citizenship to any child born in the United States.

By some measures, President Obama has turned out to be tougher on illegal immigration than his predecessor. His administration has expanded programs to expel illegal immigrants who commit crimes and has been cracking down on businesses that employ undocumented workers.